The first few minutes of a school tour can tell you a great deal. Do teachers greet children by name? Are babies comforted promptly? Do toddlers have meaningful work to do, or are they simply waiting for the next activity? When parents compare programs, these everyday moments are often the clearest signs of quality childcare: how adults respond, how the room is arranged, and whether children seem secure enough to explore. Choosing care for an infant, toddler, or preschooler is a personal decision. Every family has different schedules, values, and needs. Still, high-quality early learning programs share several features that protect a child’s safety and well-being while nurturing confidence and growing independence. At Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA) in Westchester, we look at each of these features through two complementary lenses. Montessori education gives children order, independence, and carefully designed materials. The Reggio Emilia approach adds curiosity, collaboration, and the belief that children express their thinking in many ways. Few programs in Miami bring the two philosophies together, and we believe children benefit from both. Below are five signs to look for on any tour, along with what each looks like when Montessori and Reggio Emilia work side by side.
Five Signs of Quality Childcare to Look For:
1. Teachers are warm, attentive, and responsive
Young children learn through relationships. Before they can focus on a lesson, try a new material, or join a group, they need to feel safe with the adults who care for them. A quality classroom is not necessarily silent or perfectly tidy. It is a place where teachers notice children’s needs and respond with patience. Watch what happens when a child is upset, hesitant, or needs help. A caring teacher may kneel to the child’s level, use a calm voice, name the feeling, and offer comfort or guidance. For infants, responsive care means close attention to feeding, sleep, diapering, and cues for comfort. For toddlers and preschoolers, it means listening carefully, setting kind limits, and helping children solve small problems. Research in early childhood development consistently links responsive adult-child interactions with healthy social and emotional growth. Both of our guiding philosophies build on this. Montessori teachers are trained as careful observers who respond to each child’s needs, while Reggio Emilia places relationships, among children, teachers, and families, at the center of learning. In our Nido and Seedlings classrooms, this shows up as consistent caregivers who come to know each baby’s rhythms. On a tour, ask how teachers help children transition into the day, manage separation at drop-off, and tell families about changes in mood, sleep, or behavior. The answers should sound thoughtful and specific, not rehearsed. At home, you can build the same security by putting simple words to your child’s experience: “You wanted to keep playing. It is hard to stop.” (For more, see our post How to Talk So Your Child Feels Truly Heard.)
2. Safety is built into the daily routine
A clean entrance and a secure door matter, but safety in quality childcare goes much further. It is visible in small routines all day long: handwashing, supervised meals, safe sleep practices for infants, active playground supervision, and careful transitions from one space to another. During a visit, notice whether teachers can easily see and hear every child. Look for age-appropriate furniture and materials in good condition. Ask how the school handles pick-up authorization, allergies, illness, medication, emergencies, and outdoor play. Clear policies matter, and you should also see them reflected in the classroom. Safety should not make a program feel restrictive. Montessori calls a well-designed classroom the prepared environment: a calm, orderly space sized for children, where they can move, choose activities, pour water, and care for themselves safely. Reggio Emilia describes the environment as the third teacher, a space arranged with natural light, open materials, and areas for collaboration that invite children to explore. Together, these ideas produce rooms that are both secure and stimulating. For example, a low handwashing station and a child-sized pitcher let a preschooler practice real skills while the teacher stays close, observes, and steps in when needed. This balance of freedom and supervision helps children build judgment and confidence over time.
3. The classroom invites active, purposeful learning
Young children do not need to be entertained every minute. They need chances to touch, move, repeat, create, ask questions, and make choices. In quality childcare, play and learning are closely connected. A toddler building a tower is exploring balance and persistence. A child sorting spoons is practicing concentration and coordination. A preschooler caring for a plant is learning responsibility. Here the two philosophies complement each other especially well. Montessori offers carefully sequenced materials and individual lessons timed to what Montessori called sensitive periods, windows when children are especially drawn to language, order, movement, or independence. Reggio Emilia adds emergent projects that grow from children’s own questions, such as a week-long investigation of shadows that began with one child noticing her outline on the playground. Reggio educators also speak of the “hundred languages of children,” the idea that children show what they understand through drawing, building, movement, music, and conversation, not only words. On a tour, look for materials children can reach and use on their own, books that reflect many kinds of families, and spaces for movement, art, sensory exploration, and quiet concentration. Ask teachers what children are learning from the activities you see. Strong educators can explain the developmental purpose without turning early childhood into a worksheet version of elementary school. A quality program also understands that kindergarten readiness is more than recognizing letters or counting to 20. Children benefit from learning to listen, communicate needs, care for belongings, work through frustration, collaborate, and stay engaged with a task. Academic skills grow more naturally when these foundations are in place.
- Communication with families is clear and respectful
You should not have to wonder how your child’s day is going. Open communication keeps parents connected and helps teachers support each child. This does not mean a message for every small moment. It means the school shares relevant information consistently and makes room for real conversation. Ask how teachers share daily care details for infants, meals and rest for toddlers, classroom learning, and any concerns. At MCA, families receive updates, photos, and reminders through the Brightwheel app. The tool matters less than the quality of the communication behind it. Reggio Emilia contributes a practice that deepens this partnership: documentation. Teachers record children’s words, photographs, and work to make learning visible, so parents can see not only what their child did but how their child was thinking. Montessori observation notes add a clear view of each child’s progress, concentration, and independence. Good communication is honest, especially on a hard day. You should hear both what happened and how the teacher responded: “Jordan was frustrated when it was time to clean up. We gave him a few minutes, sang our cleanup song together, and he helped put the blocks away.” It is also a two-way partnership. Share changes at home, such as a new sibling, sleep disruptions, or a new interest, so teachers can offer extra support. Consistency between home and school is one of the strongest supports a young child can have.
5. Children are treated as capable individuals
In a quality program, children are not rushed through every task because it is faster for an adult to do it. They are given time to try: a toddler putting on one shoe, a preschooler serving their own snack, an infant reaching for a toy instead of having it placed in their hand. This respect for the child is where Montessori and Reggio Emilia agree most deeply. Montessori’s guiding principle is “Help me to do it myself.” Reggio Emilia’s founder, Loris Malaguzzi, described children as strong, capable, and full of potential. Both lead teachers to offer just enough support, then step back as children grow more capable, and to encourage effort with specific words such as “You kept trying until the zipper moved” rather than broad praise alone. On a tour, notice whether children can make reasonable choices. Can they select an activity, choose a book, or help care for the classroom? Are they encouraged to communicate with words, gestures, or other age-appropriate means? When conflict happens, do adults guide children toward solutions instead of shaming them? A child trusted with real, manageable responsibilities begins to see themselves as a valued member of a community, from our youngest learners in Nido to the oldest children in Preschool. We offer a blended, research-based learning model recognized for nurturing independence, creativity, and whole-child development.Our holistic approach
Seeing Quality for Yourself
A tour is your chance to see whether a program’s daily practices match its promises. Visit while children are present, because the rhythm of a real school day reveals more than an empty classroom. Trust how you feel in the space, and give yourself permission to ask practical questions about teacher training, staff continuity, daily schedules, and guidance practices. For a full checklist, see our post Best Questions for Preschool Tours to Ask The right setting helps your child feel known, safe, and eager to participate at their own pace. At Montessori Children’s Academy, we bring together the order and independence of Montessori with the curiosity and creativity of Reggio Emilia, a combination few Miami families can find close to home. We offer full-time programs for children from about 6 months to 5 years in Westchester. We invite you to schedule a tour and see these five signs at work in our Nido, Seedlings, Sprouts, and Preschool classrooms.Schedule a Tour